Ōhashi
Ōhashi was a Japanese distributor and camera maker from the 1920s to the 1950s. History A company called Ōhashi Seisakusho (大橋製作所) was making optical instruments, condensers and filters in 1922. It notably advertised a soft filter, "indispensable to take hazy pictures of cherry blossoms". Advertisement in Ars Camera April 1922: 櫻花にたなびく霞をお写りになるには是非必要です. Its address was Honjo-ku Kikugawa-chō 1–41 in Tokyo (東京市本所区菊川町一ノ四一). It is not known if this company was related to the later Ōhashi distributor. The distributor Ōhashi Shōten (大橋商店) was already active in 1929–30 in Tokyo, at Honjo-ku Matsui-chō (本所区松井町). Advertisements in Asahi Camera May 1929 (p.40) and February 1930 (p.A28). In 1929, it advertised the Light 3×4 box camera, which was perhaps the first 3×4cm camera in the world. In 1931, it reportedly advertised the Alps no-need-darkroom camera. In 1932, the company was called Ōhashi Shashinki-ten (大橋写真機店), at the same address; it advertised the Baby Sport, another inexpensive 3×4cm Japanese camera, and the Elliotte plate folders. Advertisement in Asahi Camera June 1932, p.A15. It was later renamed Ōhashi Takeji Shōten (大橋武治商店), after Ōhashi Takeji (大橋武治), the father of Ōhashi Kyosen (大橋巨泉), a Japanese TV presenter and politician. , item 2097. Ōhashi Kyosen makes various allusions to his late father Ōhashi Takeji in his website. The address in the mid-1930s was Honjo-ku Ryōgoku 4–12 (本所区両国4–12). Undated leaflets by Ōhashi Takeji Shōten. Ōhashi Kōki Seisakusho (大橋光機製作所) was the manufacturing company associated to Ōhashi Takeji Shōten. Its address was Edogawa-ku Koiwa-machi 3–1625 (江戸川区小岩町3–1625), also in Tokyo. Source: undated leaflets by Ōhashi Takeji Shōten. The company was also using postal box no.15 at the Honjo post office (東京本所局私書函十五號). Source: advertisement published in the April 1937 issue of Asahi Camera, reproduced in , p.100. It made a few cameras around 1935–7. Camera list Confirmed as made by Ōhashi Kōki Seisakusho: * Baby Light, 3×4 (1936–7) * Roll Light Ref, 4.5×6 TLR (1937) Other: * Light, 3×4 (1929) * Alps, no-need-darkroom (1931) * Baby Sport, 3×4 (1932) * Elliotte plate folders, 6.5×9 (c.1932) * Hope plate folders, 6.5×9 (c.1935) * Seves, 4.5×6 strut-folder (1936) * Elliotte, 6×6 TLR (1952) , item 2097, says that the "Elliotte Ace" was made by Aloha Optical Works and distributed by Ōhashi Takeji Shōten. The camera is called "Elliotte Ref" or "Elliotte Flex" and attributed to the distributor Chiyoda Shōkai in , p.347. The Hope (4.5×6) folder is sometimes attributed to Ōhashi but this is unconfirmed. , item 1072. Other * Bosch 75/4.5 enlarging lens (c.1936) * Cross filters, filter holders, hoods and gauze screens (c.1936) * Riken type all-purpose hoods, also acting as filter holders (c.1936) * Diamond enlargers (c.1930) Advertisements Notes Bibliography * Ars Camera. Advertisement by Ōhashi Seisakusho in April 1922. No page number. * Asahi Camera. Advertisements by Ōhashi Shōten in May 1929 (p.A40) and February 1930 (p.A28) and by Ōhashi Shashinki-ten in June 1932 (p.A15). * * Ōhashi Takeji Shōten (大橋武治商店). Leaflet for the Baby Light and the Cross filters and hood. Date not indicated. Document partly reproduced in this Flickr album by Rebollo_fr. * Ōhashi Takeji Shōten (大橋武治商店). Leaflet for the Hope, Seves, Baby Light, Roll Light Ref, Bosch enlarging lens, Cross filters and Riken hood. Date not indicated. Document partly reproduced in this Flickr album by Rebollo_fr. * Ohashi